Chapter 191: Serie's Curiosity
"Heh..." a soft, indescribable sigh escaped Rhodes's lips as he looked at the familiar, yet unfamiliar, castle. "It has the feel of a thousand years ago. It seems Shurahat has learned a few things about architecture as well."
"It's a little... disgusting," she said with a look of distaste. And then, her eyes lit up with a new and curious light. "Since we've found their lair, shall we... do as you did to the first Demon King's castle? As I recall, you summoned the Heavenly Kingdom and used its centuries of stored faith to wipe it off the map. Can you do it again?"
She was so curious. Though she had not been there to see it, his description of it, a beam of pure adjudicating light that had swallowed the entire castle... it had piqued her interest. That was a power that was truly worthy of the name 'Undertaker'. She wished she had gone with him then, instead of just listening to his and Kraft's stories. And now, after a thousand years, to be standing before a new Demon King's castle... it was a perfect opportunity to recreate the scene.
But he just shook his head, his eyes still fixed on the castle below. "It's not the same, Serie," he said, and his mind went back. "The Heavenly Kingdom is not an item that can be summoned at will. It is a complete and whole nation. And that attack... it was only possible because of a special set of circumstances."
"The Sky-Winged," he explained, "had accumulated hundreds of years of faith, an unimaginable amount. It was that power that fueled the teleportation circle and the spell itself. And now... the Sky-Winged have gone with the Goddess of Life. There is no other nation in this world that can gather such a vast and pure power of faith. And besides... in its current state, to summon the Heavenly Kingdom again would be to risk its complete and utter destruction. Let's just leave Olivia her home."
"Then what spell did you use?"
"Something similar to the 'false Divine Strike', but fueled by the power of faith instead of mana."
"Speaking of which... the 'Light of Ersten' is down there, isn't it? Shall we give it a try?" The elven miss was clearly not ready to give up. She really did want to see that all-consuming light.
He just patted her on the head. "Alright. You go down there, in front of all those demons, and you snatch it back. And then I'll just tell them that I'm about to unleash my ultimate move, and that they should all just stand there and not do anything."
"Ugh... so it's not possible, then," she said with a huff, and slapped his hand away. He had patted her head, which she could have just barely tolerated, but to pat it several times in a row... it was just too much.
But hearing his joke, the curiosity in her eyes had been extinguished, replaced by a look of understanding. It seemed that that legendary scene could not be recreated.
"Then what do you propose? We just charge in?"
"Isn't that a little... reckless?" he said with some hesitation.
"What, are you afraid?" she said, a challenge in her eyes.
"Don't goad me. But just in case, I'll set up a teleportation circle." He drew Org, and was about to use its power to create a portal when she suddenly said, "Wait, can't we just use Org's full-release on them?"
The memory of him using it to break the Sky-Winged's own Divine Strike was still fresh in her mind. A power that could break the strongest magical attack in the world... it could surely break the barrier of the Demon King's castle, and maybe even level the whole city.
"We could," he said with a smile, though there was a hidden plan in his eyes, "but... wouldn't you like to do it yourself?" He was worried. What if Org's full-release wasn't enough to kill the new Demon King? What if it just pushed him into a second phase? After all, he had heard that the new Demon King had merged with the last fragments of the Goddess of Procreation's power. To have earned the loyalty of all the other demons... he couldn't imagine how powerful he would have to be.
And this situation... it was different from the original story. The Demon King that a certain blue-haired boy had faced... he had surely not been this strong. He didn't know if his own presence, his own actions, had caused some kind of a change in the timeline, had made the once-dying elven race now a force to be reckoned with, and had even changed the very nature of the Demon King himself. I wonder if I can still draw the Hero's Sword? he thought to himself. He didn't know, and he didn't really care to try. He had enough swords. Any more and he could have a game of mahjong. All he wanted now was to capture Shurahat and get the answers he was looking for. To just blast the castle with a beam of light... it was too risky. What if he just turned them to dust? That would be a huge loss.
"Yes, you're right. It's been a while," she said, and stretched, having completely forgotten her own earlier display of a wanton and brutal destruction.
"Hold on. I need to set up the portal first."
As they were hovering in the sky, discussing their plans, a tense and somber atmosphere had descended upon the castle below.
In the grand hall of the new Demon King's castle, a massive, black throne was empty. The new king was not here. And below the throne, a great round table, and at it, three figures, each radiating a distinct, but equally terrifying, aura. The three current Sages of Destruction: Beze the Immortal, Macht of the Golden Land, and Fin the Undead. And a short distance from them sat a massive demon, General Riwal, commander of the Demon King's elite army, and the strongest warrior of their race.
And a little further away, by the edge of the hall, Shurahat stood with his back to them, his full attention on the 'Light of Ersten', which was now floating before him, surrounded by a complex magic circle. He was trying to break the restriction.
(End of chapter)
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